Posture & State Of Mind

The first thing I want you to do when you get this book [available in print and as an e-book from justinstonetcc.com] is to watch your posture and frequently determine your state of mind.

This doesn’t mean to correct your posture. Just be aware of it. Every so often try to determine your current state of mind. This is not easy as it continually changes while you’re awake—and judging by dreams, probably while you’re asleep. Nevertheless, try to recognize the present state. Perhaps a noisy plane flies overhead while you are talking on the phone—mind with annoyance. You may be looking forward to a meeting with a friend—anticipation. Sometimes we wake up feeling sluggish—dull mind.

After a few days of watching your posture and your state of mind, you may make an unexpected discovery—that your posture is influenced by your state of mind and your state of mind has a great deal to do with your posture…

When T’ai Chi Chih students or teachers come to me, I notice their wrists and their waists to determine how much inner tension they are carrying around… When the wrists are loose and flexible, so is the person. If the waist turns easily, tension is at a minimum…

Note these things about yourself. Do your wrists circle freely; are they loose or even limp? Or are they tight and unwieldy? The purpose is not to correct the faults (though knowledge of them often does just that) but to heighten awareness. From time to time, notice if these tensions are present in your body, then look at your state of mind.

When you have practiced on yourself for a while, you can begin to notice others. The wrists and waist, which you would not usually notice, are sure giveaways. Remember, it is not your purpose to correct others but simply to be aware of the other person’s state.

State of mind becomes habitual. A feeling of gloom may become pervading and one will gradually assume a morose attitude. This certainly does not attract others. The vibration is definitely affected (in what some refer to as the aura), and a new acquaintance may feel bad vibes upon meeting another person…

One who notices his interior landscape as well as the attitudes of others is rare. This is different from being introspective, where we probe our thoughts and emotions, possibly with the aim of finding out why we are not liked or why we are not successful, whatever that word may mean. The aim is to become aware, not to stick pins in ourselves.

Similarly, if we use our observation of others to condemn, we are not following the way of awareness. It is said that, “the Way is easy to follow. Just avoid picking and choosing.” In other words, there is choiceless awareness. Very few can do this. It’s so easy to find faults with others and even with ourselves.

Having checked our posture and our state of mind, having observed our wrists and waists, as well as those of others, I would like the reader to do one small exercise recommended by my friend, Zen writer Paul Reps.

Spread your feet apart, as you stand well balanced. Then lean slightly to the right so most of the weight is on the right foot—then gradually shift the weight to the left foot. As the weight passes from the right foot to the left, try to be aware of the exact second the weight shifts. At that short mini-second, become aware…

… In this book we refer to the constant changes (not so much in mood) that take place in our minds. Annoyance at the noise an overhead plane makes while we are using the telephone is not a lasting condition but a brief passing phase. It is these brief passing phases that we want to note. We are not looking for morbid conditions or chronic feelings; rather, we want to be aware of the lights and shadows as they flit by all day long.

It is too much to expect anyone but a monk to be constantly aware of these changes, but we can, at isolated times, take a quick look. We might do the same with our posture, whether sitting or standing. And remember, it is not necessary to write down these changes or make a progressive record of them. We are not trying to improve and note our day-by-day improvement. Far from it. Rather, we simply want to be aware of the state of mind and the posture for the moment. It is the awareness, not the state of mind or posture, which is important to this practice.

Excerpt from Heightened Awareness, available in print and in an e-book from justinstonetcc.com